Suwon, South Korea – CannonDesign recently announced that CJ Blossom Park in Suwon has won R&D Magazine’s
Lab of the Year Award.

Interior of lab

The building’s architecture is inspired by CJ’s brand identity, a three-petal blossom that represents a better life of happiness, enjoyment, and convenience. Each of the three towers rise around a central atrium filled with natural sunlight.

The exterior of the building is wrapped in an outer-pleated perforated screen system that allowed the team to place full-height glazing around the entire perimeter of the building without negatively impacting thermal performance.

Outside of the laboratory environments, the building includes nearly 50 different types of spaces that respond to different types of human behaviors such as cafes, coffee shops, lounges, fitness areas, sleeping pods, and an interior living forest.

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The award is the world’s most prestigious honor for research environments, recognizing excellence in laboratory design, planning, engineering and construction.

CJ Headquarters staircase

The 1.2 million sf research and development headquarters for CJ Corporation places the company’s operations into a new format that increases efficiency, creates a culture of integrated innovation, and accelerates speed-to-market. Conceived as “The Only One,” the building consolidates CJ Corporation’s previously disparate pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and food products businesses into a single location.

MaryBeth DiDonna, editor of Laboratory Design, stated, “Laboratory Design, R&D, and our judging panel are pleased to recognize CJ Blossom Park as the 2018 Laboratory of the Year Award winner, in recognition of its grand identity, its approach to worker mentality, and its sustainability efforts.”